Detachable shoe sole



Jan. 15, 1963 D. J. DEITCH 3,073,042

DETACI-IABLE SHOE SOLE Filed Aug. 24, 1962 FIG. 2.

IN VENTOR.

David J. Deifch I r Patented Jan.'15, 1953 3,073,042 DETACHABLE SHOE SOL David J. Deitch, 6 E. 7th St., Wilmington 1, Del. Filed Aug. 24, 1962, Ser. No. 219,179 6 Claims. (Cl. 36-15) The instant invention relates to shoes and more particularly to a detachable sole therefor, for replacement of a worn sole by a new one.

One of the primary objects of the invention is the provision of a sole detachably secured to a shoe upper, the attachment being to the welt of the shoe externally of the aforementioned upper.

Yet a further aim is the making of a detachable sole for a shoe upper in which novel separable fasteners are employed; and in which the arrangement is such that the fasteners are not subject to distortion by wear, a condition found in prior art constructions.

Yet another purpose is the making of a detachable sole of the type indicated, which requires few parts, in which the sole is readily assembled and disassembled from the rest of the shoe, and which can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

The above and other aims and objects will be apparent from the detailed description hereinafter appearing when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings forming a part hereof to which reference is now made and in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of a shoe upper, sole and separable fastening means showing the relative position of the parts for assembly.

FIGURE 2 is a view, partly in section, showing a separable fastener holding the detachable sole to the shoe welt; and

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the three members constituting the separable fastener.

Referring more particularly to the drawing and FIG- URE 1 thereof, the reference numeral 10 designates generally an upper of a conventional shoe, such as may be worn by men, women and children. Forming part of said upper is a welt 11, which, it will be noted, is made to extend outwardly and continuously on both sides of the shoe and around the toe thereof, said welt being secured to the upper preferably by stitching, or in any other manner, as will be understood by those skilled in this art. A series of uniformly spaced openings 12 are punched inthe welt to extend therethrough.

An outer sole to be detachably fastened to the welt 11 is identified by the numeral 13, the sole being p eferably leather, but may be of any of the well-known substitutes therefor to be found on the market. An attaching thin, flexible, leather strip 14 has uniformly spaced through openings 15, said strip being coextensive with the Welt 11, the openings 15 in the strip being formed to be aligned with the respective openings or holes 12 in the welt, for a purpose and in a manner to be described more in detail hereinafter.

Turning now to FIGURE 3, there is shown a separable fastener comprising a female member 16, an intermediate toothed locking washer 17 and an externally threaded screw 18 provided with the usual kerfs 19. Member 16 comprises a centrally located hollow open sleeve portion 20, internally threaded at 21, the sleeve having integral spaced rod-like parallel metal bars 22, 22a, each terminating in upturned pointed projections 23, 230, at opposite ends thereof.

The manner of assembly is as follows: First, a female member 16 is inserted into each opening 15 of flexible strip 14 so that sleeve 20 passes through said opening and pointed projections 23, 23a of rods 22, 22a, bite into the body of the strip 14 as shown in FIGURE 2. After each opening 15 is so equipped, the strip 14 is secured to the upper surface 25 of the sole 13 internally of the periphery 26 thereof. The securing means is preferably a liquid adhesive or other bonding material 27, in common use in shoe making and repairing. After the adhesive 27 has set, there is a firm bond between strip 14 and sole 13. Next, the sole is brought into contact with the welt 11, a screw 18, passing through lock washer 17, is now placed in each opening 12 in the welt, as in FIGURE 2, and the screw firmly threaded into sleeve 20 to detachably hold the sole to the upper. When it is desired to remove the sole, after it has become worn, it is only necessary to unthread each screw 18 from itsunion with a member 16.

It will be noted that, in the construction just described, no part of the separable fastener is in contact with the ground when the shoe is on the foot of a person and thus is not subject to wear; also, that the weight of the person is not directly on the fastener, this arrangement preventing distortion of said fastener in use. In prior constructions, such a distortion would be apt to defeat the purpose of the invention, resulting in difficulty, if not impossibility, in expeditiously detaching a worn sole, and the ready replacement thereof with a new one.

Having described my invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a shoe having an upper and a welt stitched thereto and extending continuously outwardly on both sides and around the toe thereof, said welt having a plurality of uniformly spaced openings therethrough, an outer sole, means detachably securing said outer sole to the welt, said securing means comprising a first series of separable fastener members fastened to the outer sole on the inner face and adjacent the periphery thereof, and a second series of separable fastener members each passing thrcugh an opening in the welt for detach-able connection to a first series member.

2. The structure of claim 1, in which a flexible leather strip holds the separable fastener members of said first series in spaced relationship for fastening to the inner face of the outer so'e.

3. The structure of claim 1, in which a flexible leather strip holds the separable fastiner members of said first series in spaced relationship, said strip being adhesively bonded to the inner face of the outer sole.

4. The structure of claim 3, in which said first series of separable fasteners each comprises a female member having an internally threaded sleeve and integral projections.

5. The structure of claim 3, in which said flexible leather strip has a plurality of uniformly spaced through openings, said first series of se arable fastener members each comprising a female member having an internally threaded sleeve and integral projections, said sleeve seated in a strip opening with the projections biting into the strip leather.

6. The structure of claim 3, in which said flexible leather strip has a plurality of uniformly spaced through openings, said first series of separable fastener members each comprising a female member having an internally threaded sleeve and integral projections, said sleeve seated in a strip opening with the projections biting into the leather strip, said second series of separable fasteners each comprising a threaded member passing through a 5 welt opening into detachable threaded engagement with the sleeve of a member of the first series of separable fastener members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pezzaniti Apr. 21, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Italy July 17, 1953 

1. IN A SHOE HAVING AN UPPER AND A WELT STICHED THERETO AND EXTENDING CONTINUOUSLY OUTWARDLY ON BOTH SIDES AND AROUND THE TOE THEREOF, SAID WELT HAVING A PLURALITY OF UNIFORMLY SPACED OPENINGS THERETHROUGH, AN OUTER SOLE, MEANS DETACHABLY SECURING SAID OUTER SOLE TO THE WELT, SAID SECURING MEANS COMPRISING A FIRST SERIES OF SEPARABLE FASTENER MEMBERS FASTENED TO THE OUTER SOLE ON THE INNER FACE AND ADJACENT THE PERIPHERY THEREOF, AND A SECOND SERIES OF SEPARABLE FASTENER MEMBERS EACH PASS- 